Friday, April 11, 2014

As Ernie Banks used to say back in the days when the Cubs were capable of winning an afternoon baseball game, “Let’s play two!” International Pop Overthrow has double-headers lined up for tomorrow, Sunday, and next Saturday, April 19th at the Red Line Tap. The full schedule, with links to every artist, can be viewed on the International Pop Overthrow website.

Here’s the schedule for tomorrow afternoon.

2:00 Arts And Letters: Singer-songwriter Joe Grazulis performs under the name Art And Letters, drawing influences from the British Invasion and Simon And Garfunkel, as well as more modern acts such as Supergrass, Blur, and Super Furry Animals.

2:45 Marc Teamaker: Multi-instrumentalist Marc Teamaker likes to mix elements of soul and jazz into melodic rock songs like “So What Do You Think,” and draws influences from Marvin Gaye, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Humble Pie, Traffic, and Burt Bacharach. He can often be found performing with Ray Herrmann and Jared Nixon.

3:30 Shimmercore: This aptly named Indianapolis-based, five-piece shoegaze/indie/psych/pop band is led by Mike Contreras on vocals and guitar. Shimmercore’s 14-minute Stay New Forever Mixtape, which can be heard on the group’s Bandcamp page, mixes techno beats and synthesizers on songs that, well, shimmer.

4:15 The Hurtin’ Kind This roots rock/power pop quartet is led by Matt Rhodes on vocals and guitar. Guitarist John Leonard amd bassist Bill Kavanagh provide backup vocals, and Jerry King plays drums. Songs like “Settle” and “Soft Landing” combine high energy and strong melodies.

5:00 The Spindles: This four-member power pop band includes guitarist-vocalist Jeff Janulis of The Abbeys, along with bassist-guitarist Jerald Cross, and drummer Duane Spindle. Influences include The Beatles, The Hollies, The Kinks, The Pretenders, and The Plimsouls. The Spindles’ melodic new single “Young Heart,” which features Brad Elvis on drums and Bill Corston on bass, can be heard on their Reverbnation page.

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About This Blog

Broken Hearted Toy is an eclectic celebration of creativity, with over 2,000 posts since 2009.

It's based in Chicago but covers power pop, garage, cutting-edge, and 1960s rock from around the globe; along with occasional bits on art; literature; and theatre.

Top of the hill is a nice place to be at. - - - "Elevated Observations" by The Hollies.

Check out some of my previoius creative endeavors.

Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff was a weekly Internet show created by and starring Jeff Kelley. It mostly consisted of comedy bits and obscure 1960s garage rock set to vintage TV and film clips but also spotlighted entertainment events around Illinois.

My wife Pam and I created a handful of series (each episode was about two minutes long) that were shown on Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff. They included Manchester Gallery (see description below); Old Days, which I hosted in the persona of a cranky old man named Fritz Willoughby; Roving Reporter, where I played the clueless title character; What's With Terry?, a performance arts program; and Hanging With The Hollies, a takeoff on Breakfast With The Beatles.

I've also worked with Kelley and Willy Deal on comedy clips, and with Kelley and David Metzger on films for the annual Nightmare on Chicago Street Halloween festival in Elgin.

I'm particularly proud of this 21-episode comedy series Pam and I created for Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff. Each installment was a few minutes long, and featured me portraying Terrence, the curator of a pop culture museum.

I was a staff writer for this Chicago-based magazine from 1987 to 2015. The Illinois Entertainer has been covering rock music for over 40 years, and can be found in stores and entertainment venues, as well as in an online edition.

Chicago Art Machine was a web-based publishing company run by Editor-in-Chief, Kathryn Born, and Managing Editor, Robin Dluzen, that included Chicago Art Magazine, Chicago DIY Film,Chicago Performance And Trailers, and TINC. Most of my submissions appeared in Chicago DIY Film and Chicago Performance And Trailers, although I contributed to all the online Chicago Art Machine publications.

I was a writer and performer with this local comedy group from 1989 to 2009. Famous In The Future continues to perform in the Chicago area, and appeared at every one of the Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sinstheatre festivals that were held at the Mary-Arrchie Theatre. Since the closing of the Mary-Arrchie Theatre a few years ago, Famous In The Future has carried on the tradition by presenting Yippie Fest each year in August.

I'm an active member of SCBWI, (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and have written two Middle Grade fantasy novels. I've just finished a YA/paranormal novel, and also wrote a suspense/satiric novel that takes place amidst Chicago's alternative music scene in the mid-1980s.

Broken Hearted Toy

The blog title comes from the line, "I'm the brokenhearted toy you play with" in the song "I Can't Let Go" by The Hollies. One of the great original British Invasion bands, The Hollies continue to have an immense influence on power pop bands to this day, and have finally been inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here is a video of "I Can't Let Go" being performed in 1966.